Dangerous Substances In School Labs

Ally Fung, 10th Grader || 10.24.18

Many schools these days have put many limitations on the substances allowed for use in lab experiments. This makes these experiments quite boring at times, although it is safer to use. Some of these substances are poisonous for consumption, causing hallucinations and other symptoms. So, the question is: Should schools, including middle schools, be allowed to expand the possible amount of substances that can be used in chemical.

We are including super dangerous things like lead, mercury, and hydrochloric/fluoric acid. If we were to add those things, the amount of mad scientists working secretly in labs would sky rocket in numbers. All that stuff is either corrosive to your own skin or makes you get some kind of poisoning (there are lots) There would be constant lab accidents in schools on the news, and the worst would be deaths or those mad scientists discussed earlier would create biological weapons (sarcasm). But adding in supplies that keep us safe would nullify most of these, right? Yes, they would, but they create more problems. So the concluding answer is no, because of the dangerous substances that could be included.

As said in the second paragraph, supplies such as lab coats and goggles would neutralize lots of dangers (they have to be good ones in order to fully protect you). This is true, but it may be too costly. Lab coats are not easy to handle and nor are they easy to wash. Good lab goggles cost even more than the coat itself, and schools usually don’t buy good supplies for the average number of students per school. A good pair of lab goggles cost about twenty to thirty dollars on average for each pair. Take the average number of students per school, which is about six hundred and fifty. That’s a lot of money. Also, remember that schools are very cautious about injuries, which makes it even worse. This is why dangerous substances should not be allowed, because it is too costly to get supplies.

As you can see above, the two paragraphs explain why schools shouldn’t be allowed to use dangerous lab substances for students to use. It is highly dangerous with the death risk very high and is too costly to use. Of course, this is just an opinion, so feel free to express your own.